Regulation (EU) 2018/302 of February 28, 2018, on addressing geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market (the "Regulation") came into force, December 3, 2018. The Regulation seeks to increase access for customers in the EU and EEA to goods and services by preventing unjustified geo-discrimination due to the customer's nationality, place of residence or establishment ...
Since the GDPR has been in force, almost every company has, among other things, dealt with issues of the permissibility of direct marketing and other marketing activities under data protection law. At their data protection conference on Nov. 07-08, 2018, the German data protection supervisory authorities issued a new "orientation guide" on this topic (as of November 2018) ...
The deadline for meeting the previously issued nursing home compliance mandate is approaching. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the mandate in 2016 and gave facilities three years to become compliant. On November 28, 2019, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and nursing homes will be required to adopt and implement a compliance program as a condition for participation in Medicare and Medicaid ...
The large number of vague terms as well as provisions requiring interpretation in the GDPR create significant application issues for companies. However, it becomes even more of a challenge if companies not established in the EU want to review whether the GDPR is applicable to them. Generally speaking, the European legislator set themselves the goal of creating the most extensive territorial scope of the GDPR possible ...
The new anti-money laundering (AML) law of the UAE took effect at the end of October 2018. Containing features recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the new law introduces subtle but important changes to the AML landscape in the UAE. The new law was enacted as Federal Decree-Law 20 of 2018. The previous AML law was Federal Law 4 of 2002, as amended by Federal Law 9 of 2014, and the implementing regulations that were promulgated pursuant to Cabinet Resolution 38 of 2014 ...
The enactment of EU Directive 2018/843 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing (the "5th AML Directive") has prompted the Luxembourg government to accelerate the final implementation process of EU Directive 2015/849. This Directive prevents the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (the “4th AML Directive”) ...
In light of the new EU data protection scheme, shaped by the GDPR, Serbia has enacted a new Data Protection Law earlier this year, with its' applicability postponed for 21 August 2019. The new law was long-awaited: it has been 10 years since the existing law was passed, which was even at that moment already outdated (e.g. it recognized only consent in the written form and almost completely restricted data transfers to non-European countries) ...
On Nov. 19, 2018, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking[1] requesting public comment on criteria for identifying emerging technologies essential to U.S. national security that would be subject to increased export controls ...
When auditing annual financial statements, auditors are required to draw attention to risks that potentially threaten the company. Such risks can result for example from failure to implement the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that has been in force since May 25, 2018. Given the substantial fines envisaged in the GDPR, these risks can result in high provisions, in the worst case in refusal on the part of the auditor to issue an unqualified audit opinion ...
News of a new federal law on foreign direct investment in the UAE has many people asking: “Does this mean I can now form a new company with majority foreign ownership?” The answer is the same as previously, “No, not yet”. Companies incorporated in the UAE require a minimum of 51 percent UAE ownership. As an exception to this rule, 100 percent foreign ownership is permitted in free zones. The new law may lead to further exceptions in the future ...
The introduction of the e-hailing system had changed the landscape of public transport in Malaysia and, at the same time, intensified the competition in the taxi industry. Whilst the taxi industry was subject to specific regulatory requirements there was previously no express law to regulate the operation of the e-hailing system ...
“Tax investigation” entails an examination of a taxpayer’s business books, records, and documents as well as his personal documents to ensure that the correct amount of income is reported and tax is calculated as well as paid by the taxpayer ...
In the last quarter of 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter ending what had become known as the “80/20 rule” for tipped employees. The new rule, which eases restrictions on an employer’s application of the tip credit, is a reissuance of a 2009 opinion letter that had been supplanted by contrary guidance since 2011 ...
The value of the car is no longer merely associated with the car body, its engine or other material parts. Substantial value is found in the knowledge that controls the car – knowledge that does not only steer the car, but which may form the basis for maintenance and repairs planning, computing insurance premiums or indicating who is liable in the case of damage ...
On October 31, 2018, the Treasury Department released proposed regulations (“the Proposed Regulations”) providing guidance on the application of Section 956 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) following recent tax law changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) ...
Earlier this week, the UK Cryptoassets Taskforce published its Final Report on cryptoassets and distributed ledger technology (DLT). The Taskforce – which includes representatives from HM Treasury, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England – was established in March 2018 to analyse and assess the risks and potential benefits of cryptoassets and DLT and “set out the path forward with respect to regulation [of these areas] in the UK” ...
"Slavery remains a reality in the modern world. Children, men and children are being exploited in our towns, communities and businesses every day. The victims are hidden from view and many people may never know this cruel practice is taking place on their streets and under their noses". Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Home Secretary, October 2018 ...
The South African Competition Amendment Bill, 2017 is a step closer to becoming operational. During its plenary sitting in late 2018, the South African National Assembly (“NA”) passed a revised version of the Bill.On 1 December 2017, the Minister of Economic Development announced the release of the Competition Amendment Bill for public comment ...
The oil and gas sector has seen significant changes over the past few years, led by a significant reduction in global oil prices. This has increased the focus on operational efficiency and more flexible ways of working collaboratively to alleviate the effects of protracted price deflation ...
The Scottish financial sector has always punched above its weight due, in large part, to its appetite for innovation and sharp business acumen, which it has successfully exported around the globe. The successful early establishment in Scotland of current account banking and the investment trust speak to this, along with the undisputed influence of the Scottish diaspora, which established many of the great financial institutions from Paris to Hong Kong ...
Blockchain is a distributed ledger of data entries. The entries are processed and managed by a series of different computers, or ‘nodes’, which can be running on different servers. Every computer connected to the system keeps a copy of this ledger, meaning that different parties can view and manage the same information in real time. It also makes it exceptionally safe and secure. The energy sector has been relatively slow to adopt blockchain technology ...
On November 5, 2018, the amendments recently adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to update and simplify certain disclosure requirements will become effective ...
